The impact of the Airflow Separation on the Wind-Wave Momentum Flux

In this laboratory investigation, a range of wind and wave conditions was sampled to visualize the airflow and to quantify the mechanisms through which the momentum is transferred towards a wavy surface. The experiments were conducted in the SUrge STructural AIr-sea INteraction facility located at the University of Miami. Three distinct background wave conditions were subjected to wind forcing U ₁₀  of 7 and 14 m/s, to investigate the effects of wave amplitude, frequency, as well as wind forcing on the airflow regime and momentum transfer. We report that under the milder wind forcing (U ₁₀ = 7 m/s ) and the least steep wave, no sign of sheltering was observed. The airflow streamlines follow the shape of surface waves, resulting in a wide area of lower-than-average pressure above the wave crest. In this regime, more than 90% of the air-sea momentum transfer comes from the viscous drag at the surface due to the smooth airflow tightly following a smooth wave surface. Meanwhile, such pressure distribution above the waves is mostly the result of the Bernoulli Effect due to the wave shape, with almost-symmetrical low pressure above the wave crest and high pressure above the wave trough. However, a sole increase in wave frequency, while maintaining the amplitude and the wind forcing, is enough to induce airflow sheltering on the leeward side of the wave due to the steepened wave crest. Further, an increase of wind forcing over the same steepened crest did not alter the airflow regime or the pattern of the airflow pressure distribution, while doubling the momentum transfer magnitude. Here, the sheltered airflow regime is further evidenced by the enhanced turbulent kinetic energy observed on the leeward side of the wave. In these conditions, the viscous drag weakens, and the form drag rises to become the dominant mechanism for the air-sea momentum flux, accounting for over 50% of the total stress. In this regime, the pressure distribution is the result of aerodynamic sheltering, with high pressure on the windward side and low pressure on the leeward side. The results of this work will serve as the first step within a larger effort to develop a new formulation for the wave model wind input function, which will account for the airflow separation physics.